Loom harness with slidable heddle bar support



April 1, 1952 LEVEQUE LOOM HARNESS WITH SLIDABLE HEDDLE BAR SUPPORTFiled Feb. 27, 1947 I l a) (T FIG ,2 a

BNVENTCR V ATFDRNEYS Patented Apr. 1, 1952 UNITE ATES PTET OFFICE LUQRIHARNESS WITH SLIDABLE HEDDLE BAR SUPPORT Application February 27, 1947,Serial No. 731,269

4 Claims.

This invention relates to harness frames such as areused in looms forweaving.

Ordinarily such loom harness frames have been made of wooden top andbottom members which are often called staves, connected at the ends byend pieces or bars, the whole forming a rectangular frame which iscarried by straps and associated with other similar loom harnesses eachof which carries a certain number of heddles through each of whichheddles extends a warp thread and all of which are carried by heddlebars.

7 Formerly warp threads were drawn through i dividually by hand but morerecently automatic drawing in machines have been produced which wereefiective on drawing in the threads where the heddles were made oftextile fabric and still more recently metal heddles usually of steelhave taken the place of the textile heddles.

In the usual harness frame, the heddles,

place.

In a long harness frame, these heddle bars are usually supported notonly by being assed through the end pieces but also by hooks or hangerswhich connect with the adjoining stave member to prevent sagging. a

It is desirable that the heddles should have a greater or less chance toslide along the heddle bars so that the warp threads will be equallyspaced by the reed when it beats up and that such hooks, hangers orheddle bar supporting members should be able to slide along the heddlebars and that they should not bind or jam but should still be as thin aspossible to separate adjoining heddles as little as possible.

To allow such sliding there has been used one or more additional orauxiliary heddle bar hanger supporting bars, attached to each stave byvarious kinds of devices, on which the heddle bar hooks or hangers couldslide, as shown in patent to Kaufmann, No. 1,168,308, of January 18,1918, and others. This has been called an auxiliary supporting bar. I doaway with such auxiliary supporting bar and combine it with a stave asan integral all metal assembly which permits the heddle bar supports tomove the entire length of the frame if desired.

This" integral combined stave and supporting her preferablyis anhomogeneous strip of metal rolled with suitable flanges and a web' inone operation.

In my preferred form I provide an outer and a middle supporting flangeby which the combination stave is attached to end pieces.

I have found that by using an integral homogeneous all metal combinationstave member and supporting track at the top and at the bottom each withor without supporting. flanges, these v stave members can be connectedby the end pieces to form a frame and by providing a web which extendsinward and by forming an integral track by means of two flanges or ribsat the inside of this web, the heddle bar supporting. members for eachheddle bar at the. top and at" the bottom can slide freely on such trackthus avoiding any possible sagging or swaying such as occurs with manyconstructions.

It is desirable that the heddle bar supporting member should be readilyslidable upon such integral inside flanges or ribs which form the track,without jamming and for that reason I find it desirable that the outerfaces on each side of the web should be flat, preferably in a plane atright angles to the adjoining faces of the inwardly extending web, andthat in addition to the parts which fit around the flange or ribs thereshould be steadying fingers which rest on this outer surface and whichalso come close to the web, both in easily slidable contact therewith.All such contacting faces shouldbe smooth.

In the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of one form of my improved loom harnessframe.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged end view in section or the integral combined staveand supporting bar of my device showing the heddle bar and heddle barsupporting member.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the portion of my loom harnessframeillustrated in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view from the front of a heddle barand one type of hedd which may be used with my device.

Fig. 5 is a side view of a. modified form of heddle bar supportingmember showing. how it may be stamped or formed from one piece ofmaterial.

Fig. 6 is a front view and Fig. '7 a side view of the heddle barsupporting member shown In Fig. 5 after the fingers have been bent intoposition.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged plan view of the heddle bar supporting member ofFigs. 5-7 with the web of my supporting bar shown in section.

Fig. 9 is an end view in section similar to Fig. 2013 another formofmydevice and Fig. is a front view of the device shown in Fig. 9.

In the drawings there are shown the top and bottom staves A, A, each ofwhich, as shown, is made of a single integral strip or piece of metalpreferably with a back or base 1 together with an outside and a middleflange 2 and 3 and an inside web 4. Each stave is substantially the fulllength of the frame and is attached at each end to an end piece B which,as shown, in each case is made up of two strips of metal 10 and ll, eachhaving a straight middle portion I2 or l3 and right angular bent ends 14and [5 which by means of screws C are fastened one outside of an outsideflange 2 and the other inside of an inside flange 3.

There is also shown a heddle bar D of the usual type on which heddles Eeach having a warp eye and a loop 2| at each end are carried.

As shown, each heddle bar extends at 22 through a hole 16 in each endpiece B and each has a latch hole 23 engageable by a spring latch F, onebent end 24 of which can enter this hole 23, the construction being wellknown and being such that by releasing this releasing latch F, a heddlebar D can be moved lengthwise either against the other latch at itsother end or the other latch can also be released so that either one orboth heddle bars D with their heddles E can be removed.

Each of my staves A is made of a single piece "of metal, preferably of alight type such as aluminum, magnesium or of some alloy and extendingout on each side at the inner side of the inwardly projecting web 4 arethe two flanges 5 and G, the outside face of each of which is flat andlies in a straight flat plane at a transversely right angle to the facesof the inside web 4.

These flanges 5 and 6 form a track 'I for the heddle bar supportingmembers G, G.

In the preferred construction, shown in Figs. 1 to 4, I provide heddlebar supporting members G, each of which is formed of relatively thinmetal with a hook which'supports or helps to support a heddle bar D, ashank 32 and the three contact fingers 33, 34, and 35, which, as shown,consist of a middle finger 34 which is bent around the face of oneflange and then around over its top until it is in slidable contact witha side face of the web 4 and two other fingers 33 and 35 bent in theother direction in contact with the side face of the other flange andthen around over its top and in contact with its other side face of theweb 4.

It will be seen that with this construction there is provided sufficientcontacting surfaces between the three fingers and the outer faces of thetrack to prevent buckling and to allow the supporting member to slidelengthwise of the track while at the same time if the ends of thefingers are correctly made, they prevent any objectionable back andforth side swing, because they engage the side faces of the supportingweb.

In Figs. 5 to 8 is shown another type of supporting member H with a hookcut from and carried by a shank 4|, the sliding part including a recess42 which flts snugly around the track T at its bottom, on both sides andpartly at the section, but as shown in Figs. 9 to 10, I can use a trackK of substantially cylindrical form or in the form of two half roundflanges 49, 49, which form a round bead 50 at the end of web 5| and withit, I can use a heddle bar supporting member L made of a single piece ofsheet metal, which has a hook 52 to help support the heddle bar, a shank53, which extends straight and then is formed with three fingers 54, 55,56, of which the middle one 55 extends around one side of the roundedtrack 50 and then up along one face of the web at 51, and on the otherside the fingers 54 and 56 extend around the other side of the roundedtrack 50 and then up along the web 5| on its other side 6|.

In this case, there is very little chance of front and back swaying and,if it is wide enough, this type of heddle bar supporting member L willslide freely without jamming or buckling, but I find the substantiallyrectangular track is on the whole more satisfactory.

My slidable heddle bar supporting members are made of thin sheet metaland if web 4 is shorter than the back or base I, I provide screw stops 1at each end near the bottom of web 4 to prevent the heddle barsupporting members from slipping off especially when the heddle bars D,D, and heddles E, E are removed for repairs or changin the number ofheddles. Two or more such stops can be used to limit the space in whicheach bar supporting member can slide.

I claim:

1. A harness frame for looms, comprising a rectangular frame formed byend pieces and top and bottom stave members at right angles there toeach stave member being formed of a single integral piece of metal witha back from which top and middle longitudinal flanges extend the fulllength of the stave member, an inwardly extending web of less lengththan that of the stave member with a track formed by continuous flangeson each side along its inside edge having flat outer faces in astraight, flat plane at a transversely right angle to the faces of saidweb; slidable heddle bar supporting members each including a heddle barsupporting hook, a shank and fingers extending along each outer face andthe top of said track and being in slidable contact therewith and withboth the adjoining faces of the web; and two heddle bars supporting aplurality of heddles threaded thereon, said heddle bars extendingthrough each end piece and through the hook of a heddle bar supportingmember.

2. A harness frame for looms, comprising a rectangular frame formed byend pieces and top and bottom stave members at right angles thereto eachstave member being formed of a single integral piece of metal with aback from which top and middle longitudinal flanges extend the fulllength of the stave member and an inwardly extending web of less lengththan that of the stave member with a track formed by continuous flangeson each side along its inside edge; slidable heddle bar supportingmembers each including a heddle bar supporting hook, a shank and fingersextending along and engaging each side and the top of the track andengaging part of the web; two heddle bars supporting a plurality ofheddles threaded thereon, said heddle bars extending through each endpiece and through the hook of a heddle bar supporting member.

3. A harness frame for looms, comprising a rectangular frame formed-byend pieces and'top and bottom stave members at right angles thereto eachstave member being formed of a single integral piece of metal with aback from which top and middle longitudinal flanges extend the fulllength of the stave member and an inwardly extending web with a trackformed by continuous flanges on each side along its inside edge;slidable heddle bar supporting members each made of sheet metal bent atone end to form a heddle bar supporting hook, having a shank in themiddle and at the other end bent to form three fingers, the middle onebent one way and the others bent the other way, the fingers extendingalong and engaging each side and the top of the track and each fingerslidably engaging a side of the web two heddle bars supporting aplurality of heddles threaded thereon; each of said heddle barsextending through the book of a heddle bar supporting member.

4. A harness frame for looms, comprising a rectangular frame formed byend pieces and top and bottom stave members at right angles thereto eachstave member being formed of a single integral piece of metal with aback from which top and middle longitudinal flanges extend the fulllength of the stave member and an inwardly extending web with a trackformed by continuous flanges on each side along its inside edge;slidable heddle bar supporting members each made of sheet metal at oneend having a heddle bar supporting hook, having a shank in the mid- 6dle and at the other end bent to form fingers extending along andengaging each side and the top of the track and each finger slidablyengaging a side of the web; two heddle bars supporting a plurality ofheddles threaded thereon, each of said heddle bars extending through thehook of a heddle bar supporting member.

BERNARD T. LEVEQUE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,142,290 Wagner June 8, 19151,567,102 Balderston Dec. 29, 1925 1,686,073 Colman Oct. 2, 19281,866,908 Robertson July 12, 1932 2,216,682 Zurcher Oct. 1, 19402,287,739 Johnston June 23, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date195,045 Switzerland Mar. 16, 1938 2,703 Great Britain of 1912 412,706Great Britain July 5, 1934 649,602 Germany Aug. 28, 1937 834,737 FranceAug. 29, 1938 846,893 France June 19, 1939

